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New Delhi: Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the latter’s viral ‘Melodi’ moment with Italian PM Giorgia Meloni. PM Modi landed in Italy today, the last of his five-nation tour.

Taking to X, the Congress leader wrote, “An economic storm is raging, and our Prime Minister is busy handing out candies in Italy! Farmers, youth, women, laborers, and small traders are all in tears – the PM is laughing and making reels, while the BJP folks are clapping along. This isn’t leadership, it’s a nautanki.”

Giorgia Meloni thanks PM Modi for gifting ‘Melody’ toffees

Earlier in the day, Italian PM Giorgia Meloni thanked PM Narendra Modi for gifting her ‘Melody’ toffees. The gift revived light-hearted “Melodi” wordplay associated with two prime ministers on the social media.

Thank you for the gift pic.twitter.com/7ePxbJwPbA

— Giorgia Meloni (@GiorgiaMeloni) May 20, 2026

The video was shared by Meloni on social media. She can be heard saying, “Prime Minister Modi brought as a gift, a very, very good toffee — Melody.” “Thank you for the gift,” her video caption read.

How and who coined the term?

PM Modi, who is also in the video, can be seen bursting into laughter as Meloni jokingly referred to the “Melody” toffee while showing the gift. Notably, the hashtag “Melodi”, a combination of Modi and Meloni’s names, was coined by the Italian PM during the COP28 in Dubai in 2023.

It later went viral on social media during an interaction between two PMS during a global event. “Good friends at COP28,” Meloni had posted a photo on social media with the hashtag “Melodi”. PM Modi is currently visiting Italy following the invitation of Meloni to further strengthen bilateral ties between the two countries in various fields like trade, defence, clean energy, and technology. After his meetings in Italy, PM Modi will return to the country.